“I’m a personal comedian and I talk about what’s going on in my life,” the ‘After Midnight’ host tells PEOPLE
As a standup comedian, Taylor Tomlinson shares why she is so transparent about her bipolar diagnosis in her performance.
30 year old After midnight host opened up to PEOPLE about being a “personal comedian” and feeling comfortable enough to include discussions about her mental health on stage.
In his latest Netflix special, Look at yourselfjoked about how she copes with her diagnosis by reminding herself that Selena Gomez also has bipolar disorder, admitting that she normally tries to make her personal experiences funny to herself.
“I’m a personal comedian and I talk about what’s going on in my life, and that’s what’s been going on in my life,” Tomlinson tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue. “At first I said, ‘Oh, I’m not going to share this.’ And then I’m on the road and I’m like, ‘No, maybe I’ll just try to make a joke about it.’ And then it works, and you’re like, ‘Okay, well, I’ve got more to say about that.'”
“Everyone has their own personal style, their own personal approach, and yes, that happens to be mine,” she continues. “I think you write the way you write, I don’t think you necessarily have to choose what type of creative person you are. I think you … At least for me, I feel like it’s always been like, ‘Okay, this is how my brain works.'”
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Taylor Tomlinson.
Todd Rosenberg/Netflix
Taylor Tomlinson felt ‘ashamed’ of her bipolar diagnosis, took ‘a long time to accept’
Bipolar disorder is a manic-depressive illness of the brain that causes extreme changes in mood and energy levels, according to the National Institute of Mental Health.
There are four basic types of the disorder, characterized by periods of elation and hyperactivity known as manic episodes, followed by depressive phases in which the patient experiences feelings of sadness and depression.
Patients will often experience intense emotions as well as disturbances in sleep patterns and the ability to think clearly. These periods can last for long periods of time – days or even weeks – with no clear way of predicting when one period will end and another begin. This can cause patients to have difficulty at work, school or maintaining their relationships.
It is estimated that nearly 6 million Americans have some form of the disorder, including celebrities such as Kanye West, Bebe Rexha and Mariah Carey, who have previously spoken openly about their experiences.
Tomlinson will continue to be candid about her mental health in her upcoming third Netflix special, have everything which arrives on the streaming platform on February 13.
For more on Taylor Tomlinson, pick up this week’s issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday.
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Source: HIS Education